Phil Mickelson, who entered the week as the 115th-ranked golfer in the world, needed an exemption to gain entry to next month’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in his hometown of San Diego. After going one-and-done in the FedEx Cup Playoffs last summer, Mickelson competed on the PGA Tour Champions, reserved for golfers 50 and older. Then Sunday, against all odds, Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major, claiming his second PGA Championship just weeks shy of his 51st trip around the sun.
Playing in windy conditions on Kiawah Island in South Carolina, Lefty was at his best, stunning the field for his first major in nearly eight years. Sunday’s final pairing pitting Mickelson, one of the most accomplished players in tour history (though admittedly in the twilight of his career), against 31-year-old Brooks Koepka, winner of two of the three previous PGA Championships (2018 and 2019), set up as a battle for the ages. Koepka birdied his first hole of the afternoon to take a one-stroke lead but couldn’t finish Phil off, limping to a final-day 74, his worst round of the tournament.
Things got dicey for Mickelson on the back nine—at one point he carded three bogeys in a five-hole stretch—reminding many of his collapse on the final hole at Winged Foot in 2006. But Mickelson stuck the landing this time, tapping in for par on 18 to finish six-under for the tournament, two shots clear of runner-ups Koepka and Louis Oossthuizen. In a chaotic scene at 18, fans rushed the course, mobbing Mickelson on his way to the green, prompting security to intervene.
Mickelson last won the Wanamaker Trophy in 2005, sinking a birdie putt on 18 to cement his win at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey. This was Mickelson’s sixth major overall and his first since winning the British Open in 2013. Before Mickelson, the oldest player to win a major was Jack Nicklaus, who earned his sixth and final green jacket at the 1986 Masters.
Though he didn’t end up winning, this weekend marked a triumphant return to form for Koepka, who missed the cut at Augusta last month, playing in the Masters just weeks after undergoing knee surgery. Collin Marikawa, winner of last year’s PGA Championship at Harding Park, finished -1 for the tournament, tying him with Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau and Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris for a respectable eighth place.
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